Somerset Part 12

The oldest part of the present building is the chancel of the 14th cent. (which has a good Dec. piscina and triple sedilia), though a round-headed window (blocked), a survival of an earlier structure, is inserted in the N. wall. The capitals of the arcade have very unusual carving (including interlaced work, and the representation of a fox seizing a goose). The screen (restored) has traces of painting; the pulpit is Jacobean; and the font seems to be double, an inverted Norman basin being surmounted by another of still older appearance. There is a piscina in the S. wall, and over the S. porch a sun-dial of 1653.

Southey's father was a farmer here.

_Lydford, East_ and _West_, two small villages about 1/2 m. apart, lying on either side of the Fosseway, 5 m. W. of Castle Cary. At the E.

hamlet is a small modern memorial church, with a spire (1866). The W.

village, which is traversed by the Brue, has a church which was rebuilt in 1846, and has undergone several renovations since.

_Lympsham_, a parish 6 m. S.S.E. of Weston-super-Mare (nearest station Brent Knoll, 2-1/2 m.). It has a church with a good tower (double windows in the belfry), which is said to lean westward some, feet out of the perpendicular. Within note (1) the fine wood roof of the N.

aisle, which was once a chapel (it has a piscina); (2) the 12th cent.

tub font.

_Lyng_, a village 1/2 m. W. of Athelney Station, situated on the Tone.

Its little aisleless church, which was once a chapelry of Alfred's monastery at Athelney, has a beautiful, though small, Perp. tower (with double belfry windows). One of the bells dates from 1609. The body of the church (of earlier date than the tower) contains much that is interesting, particularly a good Dec. sedile and some fine carved bench-ends (16th cent.). Note also (1) the oak pulpit, (2) old gla.s.s in a window on N. of chancel, (3) piscinas, (4) tub font, (5) old chest hollowed from a single trunk (under the tower). The "isle" of Athelney, with Alfred's monument, is in this parish.

_Maperton_ is a pleasant village 3-1/2 m. E. from Sparkford. Of the church, which is rather screened from view by an adjoining mansion, the only old portion is the tower. A few corbels of an earlier church and a piece of interlaced carving are preserved in the S. porch. The piscina deserves notice; it is said to be Norman.

_Mark_, a large but scattered village on the marshes between Highbridge and Wells, 3 m. N.E. from Bason Bridge Station (S. & D.). The houses straggle along the road-side for a considerable distance. The church, which is at the far end of the village, is of some dignity, and has been carefully restored. It has a Perp. tower, with triple belfry windows of not very successful design, and there is a good parapet to the nave. The S. aisle is evidently older than the rest of the building (note the arcade). The fine panelled roof covering the N. aisle should be observed, and the projecting figures on the wall-plate of the nave.

Other features claiming attention are (1) the unusual direction of the squints in the chancel arch, (2) Perp. screens (1634), (3) rood-loft stair and turret in N. aisle, (4) blocked priest's door in sanctuary, (5) blocked squint in S. porch, (6) carved font under tower. The chancel contains some finely carved figures of the Evangelists, brought from Bruges Cathedral by a former rector.

_Marksbury_, a small village on the Keynsham and Wells road, 4 m. S.

from Keynsham. The church is an ugly little building with a plaster ceiling and a chancel out of centre with the rest of the structure. The tower is crowned with an eccentric set of pyramidal pinnacles, and has a small 17th-cent. inscription on its W. face.

_Marston Biggott_, a small village 3 m. S.W. from Frome. The church, which stands in a park, has been rebuilt. Marston House (until lately the seat of the Earls of Cork) is a large modern "Italian" mansion, imposingly situated on a wooded hillside. The site of the original house, of which nothing remains, is locally known as _Marston Moat_.

Close by is a field traditionally called _Conqueror's Meads_, and is popularly reputed to have been the scene of some ancient battle.

_Marston Magna_, a village 5 m. N.E. of Yeovil, with station on G.W.R.

line to Weymouth. The church, though devoid of picturesqueness, has several features of architectural interest. Traces of herringbone work will be discovered on the N. exterior wall of the chancel, where, too, should be noted the flat b.u.t.tresses and Norm. window. The peculiarity of the church is, however, the little chapel adjoining the N. porch, and divided from it by a rude screen surmounted by a gallery. Note the elaborate niche on the N. The chancel is lighted at E. by an E.E.

triplet; and some old gla.s.s will be observed in a window on the S. The font has a fluted basin, and is doubtless Norm. The central battlement of each face of the tower bears the Tudor rose (cp. East Pennard). The fine old Jacobean house near the W. end of the church should not escape attention; and in the field to the S.E. is a moated paddock, locally known as _Court Garden_, and generally reputed to be the site of an ancient manor house.

MARTOCK is a small town (with station) 5-1/2 m. N.W. of Yeovil, consisting virtually of one long street. It has no historic a.s.sociations to speak of, though in 1645 it was the scene of a public thanksgiving by the Parliament forces for the capture of Bridgwater. At the present time it is chiefly engaged in the manufacture of gloves and jute matting. The population is about 3000. It has a n.o.ble church, the earliest part of which is the E. wall (E.E.; note the five lancets and gable-topped b.u.t.tresses). In it, on a level with the floor, is a large recess, perhaps intended for relics. The rest of the church is Perp.

The tower (with double belfry windows) is rather plain; but the nave is very impressive, being exceptionally lofty, and having a clerestory lighted by unusually large windows, divided by niches containing paintings of the Apostles. There is a good deal of panel-work, and a splendid oak roof, with embattled tie-beams. The pierced parapet is remarkably good. Note (1) vault of S. porch; (2) piscina in S. chapel, (3) bra.s.s to George Bisse and wife (1702 and 1685). At the extremity of the graveyard is a defaced effigy.

Near the church are two ancient buildings. The one (approached through a small ruined arch) is a 14th-cent. manor house, with a hall lighted by windows that are square without and foliated within. Note (1) oak roof, (2) curious brackets. The other (now the church-house) was formerly a grammar school, founded by William Strode of Barrington in 1661; note arms and motto. A small building, surrounded by a moat, is said to occupy the site of a manor house given to Lord Monteagle for bringing about the discovery of the Gunpowder Plot. The market cross is a column crowned by a sundial and ball (cp. Ilchester).

_Masbury_, a station on S. & D. line from Bath to Templecombe. Here the railway, after an arduous ascent, at length reaches the summit of the Mendips. To the E. of the station is Masbury Ring, a large circular encampment. It is probably of British origin, but was, no doubt, also occupied by the Romans, as it lies on the line of the old Roman road from Uphill to Old Sarum. The fosse is now partly filled with trees.

The ring may be regarded as the summit of the E. Mendip range, which here reaches 958 ft. About a mile to the E. is a thicker clump of fir trees crowning _Beacon Hill_, another high spot. The view from Masbury is most extensive. Below are the towers of Wells and Glas...o...b..ry Tor.

On the W. horizon are the Blackdowns and Quantocks; and on clear days Dunkery and Exmoor are visible. To the E. are the Wilts.h.i.+re Downs and Alfred's Tower, whilst right in front, to the N., is Dundry Hill.

_Meare_, a village 3-1/2 m. N.W. from Glas...o...b..ry (nearest stat.

Ashcott, 1-1/4 m.). It betrays by its name the former condition of the country round it, it having been an isle (like Athelney and Muchelney) only approachable (it is said), even as late as 1808, by a bridle-path.

It belonged to the abbots of Glas...o...b..ry, who frequented it for fis.h.i.+ng; and of their connection with the place there are surviving memorials in a _Manor House_ (where they stayed) and a _Fisher's House_. The first (E. of the church) contains on the first floor a fine dining-hall with large hooded fireplace and Dec. windows; the building at right angles to it is said to have been the chapel. The second, where the abbey fisherman lived, is in a field adjoining the Manor House; it is roofless (the consequence of a fire), but the walk are intact, and the building is a good example of a mediaeval dwelling-house (erected 1335). The parish church has a 14th-cent.

chancel with a Dec. E. window; the nave (Perp.) dates from the 15th cent., and has on the parapet of the S. aisle the monogram of Abbot Selwood, the penultimate Abbot of Glas...o...b..ry. There is a 15th-cent.

stone pulpit.

_Mells_, a large village 3 m. W.N.W. from Frome (nearest stat. Mells Road). Mells possesses a fine church, several old houses, and a well-merited reputation for picturesqueness. The church is a rich example of 15th-cent. Somerset Perp., with the usual low chancel and an elaborately panelled and pinnacled W. tower (cp. Leigh). Note (1) fine groined porch (cp. Doulting); (2) octagonal vestry on S. with chamber above; (3) mural tablet with emblem of peac.o.c.k, on N. wall of tower, designed by Burne-Jones; (4) Norm. font. There are some modern bra.s.ses to former inc.u.mbents, and in N. chapel a tablet to Sir J. Homer (1659).

Immediately adjoining the church on W. is a fine gabled Elizabethan manor house. _Mells Park_ (J.F. Horner) is a plain freestone mansion, standing in some well-timbered grounds at the farther end of the village. The founder of the family is popularly reputed to be the "little Jack Horner" of nursery fame. In the neighbourhood of Mells are three camps, _Newbury_ and _Wadbury_, on the road to Elm, and _Tedbury_, on the way to Frome. The last mentioned is triangular, occupying a point of land between two ravines (cp. Ruborough).

[Ill.u.s.tration: MELLS VILLAGE]

_Mendips, The_, a chain of hills some 25 m. long, running in a straight line across the county in a N.W. direction from Frome to the Channel.

On its S.W. face the ridge drops abruptly into the plain, but the opposite side gradually shelves away in a series of irregular undulations, though the descent becomes sharper as the hills approach the coast. Viewed from the sea-board the outline of the chain is on either side sharply defined, and forms a prominent and shapely feature in the landscape. From the low-lying central flats of the county the Mendips have a quite fict.i.tious impressiveness. Nowhere does their alt.i.tude reach 1100 ft., and their ridge-like summit is nothing but an extended plateau, in places from 2 to 3 m. wide. They have, however, even on the top a certain picturesqueness, for the undulating tableland is relieved by copses, and diversified by little wooded "bottoms,"

scooped out by prehistoric torrents. Nearer the sea the uplands become more desolate, the "bottoms" are replaced by rocky combes, like the gorges at Cheddar and Burrington; villages become less frequent; and traces of discarded mines give a weirdness to the solitude. The moors are, however, healthy, and nowhere lacking in interest. Geologically the structure of the Mendips is simple. A core of old red sandstone, which occasionally crops out at the surface, and through which in one spot, near Downhead, a vein of igneous rock has forced its way, is thickly coated with a crust of mountain limestone. The once superinc.u.mbent coal-measures are huddled together on one side in a confused heap near Radstock, and on the other are probably buried beneath the Glas...o...b..ry marshes. The detached hills in their neighbourhood are doubtless only the remnants of an oolitic covering which once completely enveloped them. A noteworthy feature of the Mendips, but one shared by other limestone formations, is the number of caverns and "swallet holes" with which they abound. Of the former the _Cheddar Caves_ and _Wookey Hole_ are the most remarkable; and a good example of the latter is the _Devil's Punch Bowl_ near E. Harptree. The chief antiquities consist of the old Roman lead-mines and an amphitheatre near Priddy, the old Roman road linking Uphill with Old Sarum, and a few camps, such as those at Masbury and Burrington. The hills are fairly uniform in height, the chief prominences being Beacon Hill (near Shepton), Masbury Ring, and Blackdown (1067 ft.). A fairly good road traverses the range from Frome to Cheddar or Burrington; and a ramble taken anywhere along its length will repay the pedestrian.

_Merriott_, 2 m. N. of Crewkerne, is partly, occupied, like the neighbouring town, in the manufacture of sail-cloth. The church, in the main Perp., has been restored, but retains its ma.s.sive tower, which is singularly plain, with a pinnacled turret in the middle of the S. face.

The tower arch looks like E.E., and there is a fine E.E. (restored) piscina in the chancel. The S. entry has some intricate carving above it, and there are some quaint figures on a stone inserted over the vestry door.

_Middlezoy_ (6 m. S.E. from Bridgwater, 4 from Athelney Station) has a church (ded. to the Holy Cross) which contains some interesting features. The tower has double belfry windows (not triple, like Weston Zoyland). The chancel is Dec. (the E. window being good), and has a large piscina under a foliated canopy. There is a second piscina in the S. aisle, which likewise has a low side-window (cp. Othery). Note (1) the roof (with a few pendants); (2) the early Jacobean pulpit (dated 1606); (3) some carved seat ends; (4) Perp. screen; (5) old chest with three locks; (6) some fragments of ancient gla.s.s in the N. chapel; (7) a small bra.s.s (in the middle of the nave) to "Louis Chevaleir (_sic_) de Misiers," a French gentleman serving in the English army, who was killed at Sedgemoor (here called "the battle of Weston").

_Midford_, a station on the S. & D. line to Bath. There is a pretty view to be obtained from the platform, which overhangs a deep valley.

Some of the S. surroundings of Bath may be conveniently explored from here by good walkers. Midford Castle, a modern antique, built in the shape of a triangle, stands just above the railway.

_Midsomer Norton_, a thriving and populous village 14 m. S.E. from Bristol, with a station on the S. & D. line to Bath, and another at Welton on the G.W. branch to Bristol. It obtains its name from a little rivulet, the Somer, which partly embraces the village. Though situated on the same coalfield, it is a more pleasing-looking place than its neighbour Radstock. The church is a not very inspiring example of modern Gothic (1830), and is said to have superseded a Norm, building.

The tower, which may embody some portions of the original structure, is in keeping with the rest of the church, though of greater age. It contains a niched effigy of Charles II., who, though an unlikely church benefactor, is said to have given the bells. Besides having a large output of coal, the locality does a brisk trade in boots and shoes.

MILBORNE PORT, a small town of some antiquity but of no modern importance, situated on a southern projection of the county jutting into Dorset. The station (L. & S.W. main line) is 1-1/2 m. N. of the town. In pre-Reform days it was a pocket borough, returning two members. It has now little save its quaint air of antiquity to make it remarkable. The church, however, is interesting and will repay study.

Externally and internally it bears evidence of a very early origin. The nave has been rebuilt and enlarged, but the tower and chancel should be carefully observed. Without, note (1) fine Norm. S. doorway; (2) base of tower with its peculiar stair turret; (3) Norm, panelling on S. side of chancel and blocked low side-window; (4) Norm, lancets in E. and N.

wall of vestry; (5) traces of Norm, arcading on N. face of tower. The original niches and stoups of the W. front will be found built into a small mortuary chapel at the N.W. corner of the churchyard. Within, the tower arch claims first attention as the most exceptional feature of the church. It is of majestic dimensions, and the workmans.h.i.+p is bold and rugged. The N. and S. transeptal arches retain their round heads as originally constructed, but the E. and W. piers carry pointed arches.

The carving on the capitals is regarded by some as bearing traces of Saxon craftsmans.h.i.+p, but this is doubtful; note in some cases absence of abacus. The S. transept is also worthy of close examination; note the effigy in recess in S. wall, the Norm. windows, and the piscina.

Other objects worthy of observation in the church are (1) fine old font; (2) piscinas in sanctuary and S. wall of nave; (3) ancient vestry. The chancel and N. transept are Perp. The ma.s.sive severity of the central arches lends an air of great impressiveness to the whole interior, though the peculiar position of the pulpit indicates how difficult it has been to adapt the building to congregational purposes.

In the central thoroughfare of the village are the remains of an old market cross, and on the S. side of the street near the present market hall is the old Guildhall, containing a Norm. doorway with good details. At the E. end of the village by the side of the Salisbury road is _Venn_, the seat of the Medlicotts. It is a Queen Anne mansion of characteristically formal aspect. Between Milborne Port Station and the little hamlet of _Milborne Wick_ is the site of a camp with steep flanks, and defended on the most accessible side by a strong rampart.

_Milton Clevedon_, a small parish 2-1/2 m. N.W. of Bruton. The church contains the effigy of an ecclesiastic (N. of the chancel), and there is some ancient gla.s.s in the N. transept. Note, too, a curious inscription on the external E. wall of the S. transept, date 1615.

MILVERTON, a small town of 1427 people, 4 m. N. of Wellington, with a station on the G.W.R. Barnstaple branch. It is a poor little place--more village than town--apparently existing on its past importance. It once had a flouris.h.i.+ng market, and did a big business in woollen cloth. The church stands on a slight eminence, at the bottom of which lies the town. It is a good stately building without a clerestory, and is not quite in line with its tower, which is of the rough Exmoor type with a square turret flush with the E. face. The interior has a remarkable display of carved bench-ends (notice the "aspergillum" in central aisle, and the arms of Henry VIII. near pulpit). The screen is modern, but embodies some old panels. The aisles (note octagonal piers) terminate peculiarly at the W. end in chambers surmounted by galleries. The font is Norm. The churchyard has the sculptured base of a cross. The vicarage is said to have once been the country residence of Cardinal Wolsey. The country round Milverton is pleasant, and some delightful views of the Quantocks are obtainable in the neighbourhood.

[Ill.u.s.tration: MINEHEAD]

MINEHEAD, a seaside town of 2500 people, 25 m. N.W. from Taunton, with a terminal station on the G.W. branch from the latter place. The name seems to be a hybrid, the first syllable being the Celtic _maen_, stone (cp. _Men_dip). Once a Channel port second in importance only to Bristol, Minehead has of recent years abandoned merchandise, and given itself over to the entertainment of visitors. It has blossomed into a watering-place of some pretensions with a pier, an esplanade, and a generous profusion of public walks. It has, moreover, one claim to distinction peculiarly its own. Exmoor, the home of the red deer, lies behind it, and Minehead is the metropolis of the hunt. The advent of the stranger was not always so eagerly welcomed. The inaccessible situation of "the old town," as it is called, suggests that one of the chief perils of ancient Minehead was the frequent incursions of marauding Danes and Welsh. But the proximity of the Cambrian coast opposite nevertheless had its occasional conveniences. In the Civil War Lord Hertford, foiled in his attempt on Dunster, found Minehead a serviceable stepping-stone to security amid the Welsh fastnesses. The general appearance of the town is eminently attractive. A promenade, which might well be extended, borders the sands, and an avenue fringed with lime trees runs up from the station to the market-place and shops.

The church and older portions of the town are perched amid modern residences on the hill side above, and a quaint row of mariners'

cottages (Quay Town) lies at the seaward foot of the headland. The huge bulk of the N. hill forms an effectual windscreen at the back of the town, and the abundance of flowers in the gardens testifies to the mild climate which Minehead enjoys in consequence. The parish church of St Michael stands out conspicuously on the hill side. It has a well-designed Perp. W. tower, and both within and without shows several features of interest. Externally should be noted (1) the fine projecting window which lights the rood-loft stairway; (2) the _bas-reliefs_ on the E. and S. sides of the tower; (3) the figures supporting the weather-mouldings of one of the E. windows (one of which carries a s.h.i.+eld with date 1529), and the inscription in the masonry above. There is a plain cross on the N. side of the graveyard. Within the church remark (1) fine rood-screen (cp. Dunster); (2) carved Elizabethan altar; (3) oak box and black-letter books; (4) canopied tomb of priest in eucharistic vestments, and holding fragment of chalice; (5) curious wooden arch to vestry; (6) fine font; (7) defaced bra.s.s of a lady under the tower. No visitor can leave the churchyard unimpressed with the panorama spread at his feet. Beyond the cliffs at Blue Anchor may be discerned Weston pier. A new church in the market-place provides further accommodation for the influx of summer visitors. Beneath the churchyard wall of the new building stands a stout statue of good Queen Anne, which once adorned the parish church.

It was the gift of a Swede (Sir J. Bancks), who married in 1696 the well-portioned widow of one of the Luttrells. In the main street, opposite the a.s.sembly Rooms, is a venerable building, once a court-house. A lane leading off by the new Market Hall gives entry to a quaint row of alms-houses, built by R. Quirck in 1630. The court contains the stump of an old cross. Minehead abounds in pleasant walks.

The North Hill in particular furnishes many a pleasing ramble: its summit may be gained by taking a scrambling path at the E. end of the old church. The whole range of the hill can be traversed as far as Selworthy Beacon, and a descent may be made either to Wood Combe or Greenaleigh farm.

_Misterton_, a village 1/2 m. S.E. of Crewkerne. Its church is of no antiquarian interest, though it possesses an ancient font.

_Monksilver_, a parish 3 m. S. of Williton, rather less from Stogumber Station. The last half of the name is probably the Latin _silva_. The little church does not retain many features of interest, but note (1) the screen and pulpit; (2) a panelled altar-tomb, without inscription, N. of the chancel; (3) the piscina; (4) a bracket for a figure at the E. of the S. aisle; (5) the curious devices on some of the seat-ends; (6) the grotesque gargoyles (one seems to represent the extraction of a tooth); (7) some ancient gla.s.s (with symbols of the Evangelists) in a window of the S. aisle.

_Monkton Combe_ is a village 1 m. W. of Limpley Stoke Station, with a church that has been entirely rebuilt.

_Monkton, West_, a parish 4 m. N.E. of Taunton, which gets its name from the fact that the monks of Glas...o...b..ry owned property in it. Its church, mainly Perp., but containing in the chancel arch work of earlier date (perhaps 13th cent.), is noteworthy for its lofty tower.

The nave has a clerestory, and a good oak cornice. Note (1) stoup in S.

porch; (2) piscinas; (3) mural tablet in chancel to the memory of William Kinglake, a physician (d. 1660), with its curious inscription.

In the churchyard are the parish stocks. The old leper hospital in Taunton (_q.v._) really belongs to this parish.

_Montacute_, 4 m. W. of Yeovil, is an attractive village (with station) which derives its name from two neighbouring pyramidal eminences, one of which, crowned by St Michael's Tower, is the site of a former castle. There are several places of interest in or near it. Its church preserves work of various periods, Norm. (chancel arch and moulding on N. wall of nave), E.E. and Dec. (windows in chancel and transepts), and Perp. (tower and nave). The tower is good, with its stages divided by rows of quatrefoils. Note (1) groining of N. porch (the ribs are inaccurately centred), (2) brackets beneath organ (the eastern alone is ancient), (3) elaborate niches in chancel arch, (4) squint and piscina, (5) texts round reredos, dated 1543, (6) effigies of the Phelipses, the earliest dating from the 15th cent. In the churchyard is the carved shaft of a cross. Near the W. end of the church is a beautiful 15th-cent. gateway, once belonging to a Cluniac Priory (founded in the time of Henry I.), with oriel windows N. and S., the latter flanked by two turrets of unequal height. Note over N. window a portcullis, and over the S. the letters _T.C._, the initials of Thomas Chard, the last prior but two. In the village square is a picturesque house with the initials _R.S._ (Robert Sherborne, the last prior) between two figures with fools' caps. _Montacute House_, the seat of the Phelipses, is built in the form of the letter H, and dates from the reign of Queen Elizabeth (1580-1601). The E. and W. fronts are handsome, the former being decorated with nine large statues, supposed to represent various martial characters, historical, legendary, and biblical. The two large upper-storey windows that project from the N. and S. sides, light a gallery running the whole length of the house. The building was designed by John Thorpe, the architect of Longleat. Note the "gazebos"

in the garden (cp. Nether Stowey).

[Ill.u.s.tration: MONTACUTE HOUSE]

_Moorlynch_, a village on the S. edge of the Poldens, 4 m. S. of Shapwick Station. The churchyard commands a good view of Sedgemoor, with the towers of Othery, Middlezoy, and Weston Zoyland rising conspicuously from it. The church (said to be E.E., but altered in Perp. times) has some features of interest: (1) pillar piscina, (2) carved bench-ends, (3) Norm. font, (4) effigy of lady (preserved under the tower), (5) bits of old gla.s.s in chancel windows, (6) consecration crosses on exterior chancel wall. There are some carved bench-ends and old oak seats.